Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 13, the shōnen manga, contines its comedic storyline as it constantly finds ways to make continual fun of just about everything. While this volume does break the fourth wall on a couple of occasions, it is mostly related to the anime. Volume 13 continues with a bunch of 1-2 chapter stories, sometimes building on past continuity of previous chapters. The end of the volume begins a slightly longer café arc. While most of the chapters are essentially gag chapters, for the most part they do seem to have a bit more character development than the previous volume.
Highlights:
If I had to sum up the basic idea of this volume in as few words as possible I'd say it is mostly about the problems of sheltered people dealing with the real-world. There are two short one-chapter stories dealing with Nagi, Hayate and a two-chapter story dealing with Tama, Nagi's pet talking (but only males know this) white tiger who Nagi thinks is a cat. The two with Nagi and Tama show just how difficult the two have dealing with the real-world. Tama gets lost chasing Shiranui, a real cat who was given as a gift by Hinagiku Katsura, the current Student Council President who has a crush on Hayate. Tama gets lost and realizes what would happen if he was saw in downtown Tokyo as he tries to get back. For Nagi, she has trouble dealing with crowded marketplace and gets lost eventually being picked up by security and brought to where the lost children wait in spite continually insisting she isn't a child. While waiting, she engages in a card battle with other kids and after defeating them with her rare cards wants to be called “leader”. The one with Hayate on the other hand deals with a winning lotto ticket he gets, though only 7th place. For Hayate though, the price of 3000 Yen (~$30) was like a godsend. Unfortunately, it was also a godsend for Yukiji Katsura, Hinagaku's older sister who is an alcoholic teacher. Yukiji saw the ticket and came after Hayate when she realized he'd won money. In the end, to settle the dispute Nagi claimed the item and destroyed the ticket devestating both of them.
What all three of them do is how how Tama and Nagi, both very sheltered, have in terms of dealing with situations compared to ordinary people. For Nagi it also shows how she just wants to be liked by others and having three normal kids call her leader after giving them some of her rare cards makes her feel special.
Overview:
While many series can become dull as the same basic theme is rehashed, Hayate the Combat Butler seems to somehow be immune to this problem. Sure, many chapters have already dealt with the problems Nagi faces when dealing with stuff the more ordinary citizen might take for granted or ideas about thinking because she's in high school her age and height don't matter in how people will treat her. Kenjiro Hata just has that something that makes you want to keep reading the next volume waiting to see what kind of awkward and outlandish situations will result in hilarity next time. It isn't like a static manga where nothing develops, but the development is very slow, almost subtle so you don't realize it.
One of the items that caught my particular attention in this volume were the two volumes dealing with the perverted priestly ghost of Linn Regiostar who appears has a maid fetish. These two chapters probably struck me as the best two chapters in the manga, aside from the last café arc (which hasn't been finished). In the former, while playing an April Fool's joke on Hayate he got Isumi Saginomiya, Nagi's only and very close friend, involved to dress up as a maid in order to help him ascend having no regrets. In the end though, it appears that he won't be leaving anytime soon having a lot of reasons to stay around which did not go well with Isumi when she found out she needed to dress as a made for nothing. In addition we say the development of Wataru's character, with one of those few fourth wall barriers broken as the narration box told us how, unbeknownst to him, he described what defined what the “Spirit of a Maid” was to Isumi. In addition, Maria, while shown in various panels to the reader, was purposefully ignored throughout the two chapters as a source for information by the characters as a kind of more subtle joke about how they ignored the probably best closest expert on the subject.
If there is one thing I am disappointed with, and this is not just with this volume, but with others as well, is that the color pages in the Japanese manga aren't brought over in color here. This volume made reference to a couple pages printed in color in the text and seeing it gray scale loses much of its impact. I would really like to see a wideban reprints of these with all the colored sections intact by Viz in the future. Some manga can get around this, but Hayate makes too many jokes about the color pages to not have this.
Volume 13 is another great volume. I can see Hayate the Combat Butler going strong for quite some time as long as Hata can continue like this. Defiantly one to pick up and continue reading.
ComicsOnline gives Hayate the Combat Butler Volume 13 5 out of 5 flaring skirts of a twirling maid.
